1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to aircraft and to mechanical safety features on aircraft. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to mechanical structures for providing rapid egress from aircraft cabins.
2. Background
Commercial passenger aircraft may include one or more areas where the aircraft crew may rest. Crew rest areas are particularly desirable on aircraft that are used for long duration flights. A crew rest area on an aircraft may include chairs, bunks, and various other amenities, such as a closet, sink, and lavatory.
A crew rest area may be provided in a cabin of the aircraft that is separated from the main cabins where passengers of the aircraft are seated. It has been found that a desirable location for the crew rest area may be in the overhead area of the aircraft. The overhead area of the aircraft is the area located generally between the top of stow bins in the main cabin and the crown of the aircraft. By taking advantage of the overhead area of the aircraft for a crew rest area, airlines may reserve use of the main deck area of the aircraft for revenue-generating passengers and cargo.
Primary access to and from a crew rest area located in the overhead area of the aircraft may be provided by a stairway or ladder from the main cabin of the aircraft to the crew rest area. The crew rest area preferably also includes a secondary exit. For example, the secondary exit may include a hatchway that provides a secondary escape path from the crew rest area to the aircraft main passenger cabin. Current designs for such an escape hatchway may allow an evacuee from the crew rest area to step down from the crew rest area onto main deck furniture or seats located below the crew rest area in the main passenger cabin. From there, the evacuee may step into a main aisle in the main passenger cabin and then exit the aircraft via a door in the main cabin. Other current designs for an escape hatchway may allow the evacuee to exit from the overhead crew rest area directly into an aisle located below the crew rest area in the main passenger cabin of the aircraft.
Some aircraft may include passenger suites in the main passenger cabin. A suite is a private passenger cabin that is walled off from the rest of the main passenger cabin. The suite may have an individual door for exiting and entering the passenger suite to and from the main cabin.
The arrangement of passenger suites, seats, and other furniture on the main deck of an aircraft may affect egress via the secondary exit from the crew rest area located above the main deck. For example, a desirable arrangement of passenger suites, seats, and other furniture on the main deck may interfere with the effective use of a conventional hatchway as means for egress from the crew rest area.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that takes into account one or more of the issues discussed above as well as possibly other issues.